Barack Obama promises US action on climate

AT LAST, the US looks set to tackle climate change head on, following promises this week by President Barack Obama to put it centre stage in his next term as president. "We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations," he said on Monday in his inaugural address to the nation.

With the horrors of superstorm Sandy a fresh reminder that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent - a trend predicted by climate models - Obama sniped at Americans who still deny that human activity is to blame. "Some may still deny the overwhelming judgement of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought, and more powerful storms," he said.

Obama flagged a transition to cleaner energy as an economic opportunity, one that would be lost to other nations unless the US stepped up. "The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult, but Americans cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries," he said. "We must claim its promise."

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